Jennifer McClellan becomes first Black woman elected to Congress from Virginia

Virginia voters on Tuesday elected Democrat Jennifer McClellan, a veteran state legislator from Richmond, to fill an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she will be the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress.

"We will make this commonwealth and this country a better place for everyone," McClellan said in a victory speech at a party with supporters in Richmond. "I am ready to get to work."

McClellan, 50, prevailed over right-wing Republican nominee Leon Benjamin in the special election for the Democratic-leaning 4th District, which has its population center in the capital city and stretches south to the North Carolina border.